Saving Your Money: Wedded Bliss on a Budget | Families

Title (Max 100 Characters)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- "He took me to a dock down the way from our house, on a lake," 22-year-old Brittany Thomas reminisces.

"He had wine in hand and roses. We watched a meteor shower and shooting starts, but I don't think he planned that," she laughs.

25-year-old Trey Burnett proposed to Brittany back in March.

The couple knew the wedding would be at the same church in which Brittany's parents married 25 years ago.

Then the planning began, pulling the bride-to-be back down from cloud-9.

"It goes back and forth," Brittany sighs. "there are times it gets very hectic when we try to figure out all the money situation."

Brittany explains that she and her fiance' are on a tight budget, so creativity when planning for the big day has been key.

She was more than willing to share some of her wedding planning strategies.

"We are doing all of the planning ourselves," Brittany tells us.

Besides making their own table centerpieces, and hosting a home-cooked barbecue for their rehearsal dinner, Brittany and Trey are getting married on a Sunday because it's less costly.

"We checked out a popular reception spot in St. Augustine," Brittany remembers. "It cost $11,000 minimum to rent the room for 4 hours on Saturday, but on a Sunday it costs $6,000 minimum for 5 or 6 hours."

The couple is also looking to friends and family for help with wedding details.

They have friends who are florists and disc jockeys.

Others friends are helping the bridesmaids with their makeup.

Grandma is baking the wedding cake.

"We also got a bunch of do-it-yourself ideas off the website Pinterest", Brittany reveals.

Pinterest is a free online social networking site on which participants post and share photos and ideas.

Brittany and Trey also took advantage of any discounts they encountered.

For example, the bridesmaids' dresses are discounted 20-percent because they were ordered at the same store Brittany bought her wedding gown.

Brittany and Trey are even saving on their honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas.

Thanks to their parents' participation in a time share with RCI, the newlyweds will spend $700 for a week in a 4-star hotel.